Every step in a methodology should produce a reviewable result in order
to substantiate completion and assure a quality product.

Without a road map, you might be driving in circles.

Project management is only possible with an effective methodology.

(Relating to Methodologies) - The least expensive decision will be the price of the package.

Having a Project Management system without a methodology is like
attaching a speedometer to an orange crate; it measures nothing.

When you are constructing a building, it's a bad idea to start with the roof.

The number of lines of communications grow exponentially
based on the number of people involved in a project.

Our electronic communications may be very slick, but if neither party knows
what the other is talking about, you are going nowhere fast.

Systems do not have a "life cycle." They may go on forever if
kept viable with change. The only thing that has a "life cycle"
is a project which has a beginning for planning, a middle for
execution, and an end for review.

It is one thing to enact legislation, quite another to enforce it.

Project management is a philosophy of management, not a tool or technique.

Most estimating errors are errors of omission, not commission. It is
what we forget to estimate that gets us into trouble.

An estimate improves in accuracy in relation to the level of
detail considered.

It is important that both costs and benefits be thoroughly defined
and scrutinized. After all, there is little point in throwing good
money after bad.

A project always has a critical path until it is completed or closed. The
path can vary depending on accomplishments.

A project requires a methodology, but a methodology does not require a project.

It is just as bad to underrun a project as it is to overrun a project.

If we lived in a perfect world, there would not be a need for
managers; projects would be executed on time and within cost.
However, the reality is, we live in an imperfect world.

The last 1% of a project can take as long as the first 99%.

Effectiveness Rate = Direct ÷ (Direct + Indirect)

A Systems Development Manager speaks with a forked tongue.

Managers do not create problems, they solve problems.

The successful manager is one who does himself out of a job.

A manager is not in a popularity contest.

Manage from the bottom up; not just from the top down; this
creates personal commitment and accountability.

When it comes to working for an incompetent manager, you basically have three
alternatives: fight, quit, or work; all of which are no-win situations.

A project will only be accomplished if the individuals performing the
work want to do it.

We accomplish projects through people.

Manage more, supervise less.

The only good business relationship is where both parties benefit.

Employees should be treated as professionals and held accountable
for their actions.

All companies have a culture. In order for employees to
function and succeed, it is essential they understand and
believe in the culture.

Culture is learned. It can be taught and enforced.

The ethics of a business are whatever the top-dog says they are.

Time lost, is time lost forever. You cannot buy it back.

People act on their perceptions of reality, regardless if it is correct or fallacious.
They are not so much concerned with facts as they are in perspectives and self interests.
Just remember, if the input is wrong, everything that ensues will be wrong.

Message X Media = Perception

You cannot capitalize on your workers' talents if
you do not know their skills and proficiencies.

You cannot put two quarts of liquid into a one quart bottle. If you
try, you will lose a quart.

An expert is someone who lives more than 50 miles out of town
and wears a tie to work.

"We never have enough time to do things right." Translation: "We have plenty of time to do things wrong."

Just because it is on a "PRIDE" form, doesn't mean it was prepared using "PRIDE."

The word "man" is embedded in the word "management" for a reason.

The "man" in the word "management" refers to "mankind."
Don't forget it.

Do not try to apply a band-aid when a tourniquet is required
to stop the bleeding.

All of your hard work, regardless of how well it is intended, is for naught
if it results in a pile of rubbage.

If there is no governing science supporting it, use of the term
'engineering' is fraudulent and misleading.

You cannot treat a patient if he doesn't know he is sick.

A man's trustworthiness is measured by the number of keys he holds.

Most children are raised by amateurs, not professionals.

Never trust a person who doesn't have at least one known vice (e.g., drinking, smoking, swearing).

Business is about people, not just numbers.

Management is more of a benevolent dictatorship as opposed to a democracy.

Don't watch the clock, watch the product or service to be produced.

Unless someone is looking for an excuse to duck a work assignment,
nobody wants to attend an inconsequential meeting.

Only an a****** comes to a meeting without something to write with.

I have never encountered a technical problem that couldn't be
conquered with a little imagination, some concentrated effort,
and a lot of good old-fashioned management.

Lawsuits primarily benefit the attorneys and nobody else.

A policy is written to protect a company from those who break
the rules, not from those who follow them.

Technology without Management is Madness.

Parkinson's Law as applied to Information Technology:
As computer hardware capacity increases, software becomes more bloated.

You eat elephants one spoonful at a time.

You simply can't build anything of substance without a good set of blueprints.

If you are not pissing someone off, you are probably not doing your job.

If you are not using the right bait, you'll catch nothing.

If the mind really is the finest computer, then there are a lot
of people out there who need to be rebooted.

If they do not have an appreciation of whence we came, I doubt
they will have an appreciation of where we should be going.

In this industry, we tend to worry about the wrong things. This
is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

It's never lonely at the top of an IT organization,
primarily because the IT Director is never there.

It's hard to keep going forward when logic tells you otherwise.

Forget about today, build for tomorrow.

Social intercourse is a two way street. Make sure you are driving on the right side.

Do not criticize unless you can offer an alternative.
Turn something negative into something positive.

As the use of technology increases, social skills decreases.

There is more to building a team than buying new uniforms.

Loyalty = Trust

A resume is either an accurate description of a person's capabilities
or demonstrates how well someone can write fiction.

How we look and act speaks volumes.

Everything begins with a sale.

"Bullshit" is the most versatile word in the English language. It can be applied
in just about any business situation. Frankly, we do not use it enough.

Just because someone understands what you are saying, doesn't
mean they necessarily agree with you.

When you find someone you believe in, do not hesitate to stand by him through thick and thin.

Never let a job be held hostage by an employee.

The Baby Boomers will be more remembered for the problems they left behind as
opposed to anything they accomplished during their tenure.

Youth is our only true vacation in life, and our most unappreciated.

There is no such thing as a bad cigar. It's a matter of matching the right person with the right cigar.

The simplest way to kill anything is to simply eliminate its energy source.

We write to communicate, not to put people to sleep.

In most cases, you can only be taken advantage of if you allow yourself to be taken.

If you do something wrong long enough, you think it is right.

It's not the time you put in, it's the work product you put out.

Even if you provide a person with a map, there is no guarantee he will read it.

Those who do not do their homework do not graduate.

The road to truth is rarely without bumps and bends.

Simple economics motivates everyone, particularly politicians.

The amount of risk we assume is proportional to the responsibilities we accept.

If you do not laugh once and a while, you'll cry a lot.

Your most lethal weapon is your mouth.

Nothing irritates your opponents more than to see you succeed when you are expected to fail.

Do not underestimate the power of the company party.

Progress is arrested when we surrender to the status quo,
that we no longer strive to exceed it.

If a single picture is worth a thousand words, imagine what a video provides.

It takes a brave soul to divert from the path of least resistance.

Appearances mean little if people can see through your disguise.

It is a fallacy that a cluttered desk is the sign of a brilliant mind.

The naysayers of the world take pleasure in chiding you as to what cannot be done.
Prove them wrong and return the favor.

Sometimes intelligence is nothing more than experience in disguise.

How to become financially responsible: Start each day by paying a bill.
You'll learn your fiscal priorities quickly.

It pays to try and ride a different horse now and then.

The road to truth is rarely without bumps and bends.

The longer you delay admitting a mistake, the more expensive it will be to correct.

One "No" can be more valuable than 100 "Yeses" if told at the right moment.

All arguments are settled at the cemetery.

There is always a heavy price to pay for keeping up with the Jones'.

Two irrefutable facts regarding investing in the stock market: The moment you purchase a stock, you can count on it declining immediately, and; The moment you sell your stock, it will either immediately soar to new heights, split, or both.

In every person's life, you must eat at least one spoonful of dirt.

You know you are getting older when you begin having arguments with inanimate objects, and you lose.

Everything eventually ends up in the garbage dump.

Traffic lights are green only when you do not have an appointment to make.

The only problem with "going with the flow" is you are in all likelihood blindly headed towards a waterfall.

You cannot appreciate the past until you have experienced the future.

Bureaucrats exist to impede progress, not expedite it.

The customer should never have to wait to pay the bill.

What we introduced in 1971 as our original "PRIDE" Methodology for System Design is still light years ahead of the industry.
It's not bragging when it is a fact.